The O. Henry Prize Stories 2007: The Best Stories of the Year | 
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Product Description
An arresting collection of contemporary fiction at its best, these stories explore a vast range of subjects, from love and deception to war and the insidious power of class distinctions. However clearly spoken, in voices sophisticated, cunning, or na•ve, here is fiction that consistently defies our expectations. Selected from thousands of stories in hundreds of literary magazines, the twenty prize-winning stories are accompanied by essays from each of the three eminent jurors on which stories they judged the best, and observations from all twenty prizewinners on what inspired them.
“The Roomâ€
William Trevor
“The Scent of Cinnamonâ€
Charles Lambert
“Cherubsâ€
Justine Dymond
“Galveston Bay, 1826â€
Eddie Chuculate
“The Gift of Yearsâ€
Vu Tran
“The Diaristâ€
Richard McCann
“War Buddiesâ€
Joan Silber
“Djamillaâ€
Tony D’Souza
“In a Bear’s Eyeâ€
Yannick Murphy
“Summer, with Twinsâ€
Rebecca Curtis
“Mudder Tongueâ€
Brian Evenson
“Companionâ€
Sana Krasikov
“A Stone Houseâ€
Bay Anapol
“The Company of Menâ€
Jan Ellison
“City Visitâ€
Adam Haslett
“The Duchess of Albanyâ€
Christine Schutt
“A New Kind of Gravityâ€
Andrew Foster Altschul
“Gringosâ€
Ariel Dorfman
“El Ojo de Aguaâ€
Susan Straight
“The View from Castle Rockâ€
Alice Munro
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Customer Reviews:
• Diverse Collection With Several Exceedingly Well-crafted, Transcendent Stories 14 January, 2008
Every year for the past 10+ years I have read both the O. Henry Prize Stories anthology and The Best American Short Stories anthology. My main complaint about O. Henry series editor Laura Furman has been her tendency to pick stories which focus on loss, illness, death and other depressing subjects. I won't be so bold as to claim she has read these criticisms, but this year she did produce a much more well-rounded selection of stories that more fully illustrate the possibilities of the short story form. By doing so, she has come much closer to realizing the O. Henry anthology's subtitle of "The Best Stories of the Year".
In fact, this volume contains the best story I have read in several years, although the prize jury felt otherwise: Charles Lambert's "The Scent of Cinnamon". While other stories in the anthology push the creative boundaries of the short story form, Lambert's story is a classic short story in the O. Henry mold, complete with a surprise revealed at the end that adds a whole new dimension to what you have just read. The story is not one word longer than it should be, and every word is meaningful and well-chosen. The portrayal of longing amidst isolation is powerfully moving. This story is a work of art which should be taught in schools as a model of the form.
Two other very different stories that I also especially enjoyed are:
-- Eddie Chuculate's "Galveston Bay, 1826", which reads like a written-down oral history of an Indian's journey across other tribes' lands in Texas and the amazing sights and events that he encounters; and
-- Susan Straight's "El Ojo de Aqua", which describes the travails of an elderly poor migrant black worker.
While everyone will have their own favorites, I do feel that editor Laura Furman has assembled her strongest collection of stories to date. I highly recommend this volume, and short stories in general, as they are the perfect complements to a busy lifestyle. Even those folks with little time to read should be able to find time on occasion to enjoy a well-written short story, and this volume contains many.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2KP0ONGECY1WT
• 2007 O'henry Prize Stories 06 September, 2007
As with any collection of short stories, few readers will fall in love with every single entry. Stories, unlike people, are not all created equal. It is admittedly quite tempting to break out the slings and arrows and take cheap shots at those stories that, in my estimation, didn't measure up. But it's much more satisfying to stay positive and focus on the praiseworthy. So, without further ado, the following stories are real "prize winners" in my book:
"The Scent of Cinamon" by Charles Lambert
A truly strange, and some might say 'haunting', kind of love story.
"Summer, With Twins" by Rebecca Curtis
Every character is masterfully crafted, and the twins are so deviously immoral I wanted to reach through the page and give them what for. The twins exhibit all the corrupt sensibilities of the financial elite. Their privileged upbringing leaves them oblivious to the harm pure capitalism inflicts on others, particularly on our lovely heroine.
"The Gift of Years" by Vu Tran
Beautifully written! A modern-day masterpiece about a Vietmanese soldier who tries to shelter his curious daughter from the realities of war. Meanwhile, only the passage of time can shelter him from the realities of his daughter's troubled life. A diamond among gems!
"A New Kind of Gravity" by Andrew Foster Altschul
Every once in a while (unfortunately, not often enough), you read a story that delivers a punch in the gut that for some odd reason, you want to experience over and over again. This story of a shelter for battered women, as told through the eyes of a security guard, delivers such a powerful blow. Our hero sympathizes with the women and children, and seethes with anger at the men who victimized them with their twisted sense of love. By no means a "pleasant" read, and perhaps not a story you'd like to read at the beach, but by all means a "must" read.
Honorable Mention:
"The Diarist" by Richard McCann
"Mudder Tongue" by Brian Evenson
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1JZMRPH6DLX8T
• Pretty Weak 15 April, 2008
As usual, the O Henry Awards are pretty weak. That's not to say that there aren't some good stories (and one really great one) contained, it's just that they try too hard to get an eclectic mix and skip out on what might be the 'best' for what is 'most different.'
- Reviewed by customer ID: A2S166WSCFIFP5
• O.henry Prize Stories 27 April, 2008
I read these every year and I can always find excellent stories and then some that don't really appeal to me. But I would guess it's all a matter of taste.
Here are my favorites:
The Gift of Years by Vu Tran.
City Visit by Adam Haslett
A New kind of Gravity by Andrew Foster Altschul. This one was my favorite out of all of them. It's a great story about a guy who works at a battered women's shelter.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1BCHXOZH3G8I3
• Another Prize Winner 11 May, 2007
Since 1919, the O. Henry Prize has meant excellence in literary short fiction. To win an O. Henry is the pinnacle achievement in a short story author's life. Named after William Sydney Porter (1862-1910), better known to readers as O. Henry, the prize was conceived in 1918 by his friends, members of the elite Twilight Club, later renamed the Society of Arts and Letters, in order to honor him and strengthen the art of the short story.
The O. Henry Prize Stories for 2007 are some of the best literary fiction in North America. These authors convey more emotion in a single paragraph than many authors do in an entire book. Take for example,
-- The Scent of Cinnamon by Charles Lambert. The author explores the themes of loneliness and the abandonment of dreams even while embracing them.
-- In a Bear's Eye by Yannick Murphy, grief, loss and acceptance are explored in a style made all the more heart wrenching by its simplicity.
-- In The Gift of Years by Vu Tran, a father returns from battle only to see the unsettling changes the war and his own absence wrought on his family. But with distance also comes insight, however unwelcome.
The selected stories encapsulate the human experience in both shocking and poignant terms. Clever and deft at their craft, the authors of these stories exemplify the absolute best in the written word.
Armchair Interviews says: Lucky are those who love outstanding short stories!
- Reviewed by customer ID: A21NVBFIEQWDSG
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